A/HRC/4/48 page 40 recruitment, attacks against the civilian population, restrictions on the movement of food, medicines, fuel and people, and accidents and deaths resulting from anti-personnel mines. For their part, the security forces have been held responsible for extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests and identifying members of indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities as guerrillas. There were complaints of the security forces imposing restrictions on the movement of goods and persons and occupying civilian premises such as houses and schools. Information was received about cases of indigenous persons being arrested and not being allowed to perform their traditional practices. 12. The ethnic rights of the Afro-Colombian and indigenous populations and the biodiversity of the Chocó, Nariño and Putumayo regions have been seriously affected by the private exploitation of collective lands. Some communities have stated that no previous consultation took place as required before the start of productive exploitation on their territories. 13. Furthermore, the ethnic groups are seriously affected by high levels of poverty and the inferior quality of the education and health services they receive in comparison with the national averages. 14. Important progress took place in 2006 with regard to measures to protect the rights of ethnic groups, such as efforts by the Government to establish guidelines for a public policy vis-à-vis the Afro-Colombian population. Also noteworthy are the efforts to consolidate public policy vis-à-vis the indigenous population. However, these efforts have not translated into a significant improvement in the situation of these populations. It is essential that the Government should develop a systematic approach regarding the indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities in a situation of isolation, and fill the existing gaps in terms of disaggregated statistical information. 15 Likewise worthy of mention is the formulation by the Government of a Comprehensive Plan for the Care of Indigenous Communities at Risk of Extinction. It is hoped that this plan can be extended to other departments such as Amazonas, Guaviare and Vaupés. Furthermore, this Plan needs to include a human rights approach. 16. A positive development is the fact that the Rom ethnic group has for the first time been incorporated in the official statistics in the 2005 census. However, lacunae continue to exist in information on the original populations of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. Situation of detained persons 17. On the question of overcrowding in prisons, the statistics obtained by the OHCHR Office indicate a substantial decline in the overall percentage. However, 7 out of 10 prisons show some level of overpopulation. Overcrowding was substantially reduced in prisons in Quibdó as a result of the reopening of a cell block in Istmina, and in the women’s prisons in Bogotá and Pereira after new facilities were opened. Nonetheless, worrying levels of overcrowding persist in the cities of Cali, Riohacha and Popayán.